The ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela is set to witness a grand cultural extravaganza from January 16 to February 24. The event, aptly titled ‘Sanskriti ka Mahakumbh’ (Cultural Mahakumbh), will showcase the rich tapestry of Indian culture through a series of captivating performances by renowned artistes.
The main stage, Ganga Pandal, will host performances by renowned artistes from across the country, including a special presentation by Shankar Mahadevan on the opening day.
Cultural programmes will also begin at the Yamuna and Saraswati pandals on Thursday, while the Triveni pandal will host a blend of cultural melodies starting January 21.
On Thursday, Bollywood singer Shankar Mahadevan will regale the audience at the Ganga Pandal, while students from Kashi’s Sanskrit schools will offer their devotion through Mangalacharan at the Yamuna Pandal. The Saraswati Pandal will showcase the traditional art of Nautanki, with Padma Shri Ramdayal Sharma and his 30-member team presenting the story of Lord Krishna’s friendship with Sudama.
The Ganga Pandal, with a capacity of 10,000 spectators, will be the main venue for this celebration of devotion and heritage. Located at Sector-1 in Parade Ground, it will be the hub for grand performances by India’s eminent artistes. In addition, Triveni, Yamuna and Saraswati pandals, each with a capacity of 2,000, will host a variety of performances by renowned artistes from Uttar Pradesh and across the nation.
Main events on January 16 at Ganga Pandal: Classical/light and classical singing by Prof Ritwik Sanyal (Varanasi); Odissi dance by Bichtrananda Swain (Bhubaneswar); Sitar vadan by Kushal Das (Kolkata); bhajans/ by Shankar Mahadevan (Mumbai) and Ravi Shankar (Uttar Pradesh).
At Yamuna Pandal, children from Sanskrit Schools, Varanasi, will present mangalacharan (devotional offering); Sanya Patankar (Rajasthan) will render classical songs; Sahiram Pandey (Gonda) will present Alha singing (Traditional ballads); Sarita Mishra (Lucknow) will present folk songa; Ramprasad (Prayagraj) will present Birha singing (traditional folk songs); Piyusha Kailash Anuj (Delhi) will present bhajans; Arushi Mudgal (Delhi) will perform Odissi dance and Amarjeet (Sonbhadra) will present tribal folk dance.
At Saraswati Pandal, Saurabh Banodha (Sonbhadra will perform on bamboo musical instruments; Shweta Dubey (Varanasi) will render bhajan singing; Shruti Malviya (Lucknow) will render bhajans/folk singing; Padma Shri Ramdayal Sharma (Delhi) will present Krishna-Sudama nautanki.
